Drivetrain Mounts and Upgrades for BMW 3 Series E46 (1999-2005)

ECS Tuning's Polyurethane Transmission Mounts are designed to address the vital role of transmission mounts in your vehicle's suspension. The factory mounts are notorious for failures that can result in over-revving, mis-shifts, and in extreme cases, potential chassis damage. Our polyurethane mounts provide a robust solution, engineered for both street and track applications, guaranteeing enhanced performance while eliminating concerns about torn mounts.

Polyurethane stands out with its exceptional toughness, durability, and impressive wear resistance compared to rubber. It also exhibits resistance to water, oil, and grease while retaining its original shape even when subjected to significant compression. By reducing deflection, polyurethane facilitates effective power transfer. While there may be a slight increase in NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness), the benefits far outweigh this minor compromise in ride comfort. With a polyurethane durometer of 70A, our street mounts are versatile, offering both daily driving comfort and track durability. For more track-oriented enthusiasts, we provide stiffer mounts with an 80A durometer rating.

For a hassle-free installation, we supply a comprehensive DIY guide. ECS Tuning ensures that you are fully supported from start to finish.

Stock mounts are made from soft rubber and are sometimes filled with fluid to give a car the most comfortable ride possible. The soft rubber and fluid helps to reduce the total amount of vibration, noise, and harshness (NVH) that is transferred into the cabin. The problem with this is driveline slop. The stock mounts allow a lot of excess movement and increases the amount of time it takes to transfer power to the wheels.

In order to address this issue, performance mounts can be substituted to reduce the amount of slop and transfer power to the wheel quicker. Two options for this are polyurethane mounts and solid mounts.

Solid mounts are great for an immediate transfer of power but allow for a ton of noise and vibration to be felt and heard in the cabin of the vehicle. This is great for the track where there aren't any issues with excess harshness, but as a daily driver, this can become an annoying pain in the neck.

The best middle ground is Polyurethane. Polyurethane is much stiffer than rubber and gives you the much stiffer feel you may be looking for. This allows for the increase in responsiveness, but isn't so extreme that it transfers all of the sound and vibrations into the cabin. This makes it much more comfortable for daily use while still reinforcing your driveline.

Features:

• Aluminum and Polyurethane Construction
• 80A Durometer Rating
• New Hardware

Enhance your driving experience with ECS Tuning's Performance Polyurethane Differential Bushings. These meticulously engineered bushings offer a direct connection between your right foot, the engine, and the chassis, making them an essential upgrade.

• Say goodbye to the softness of factory rubber differential bushings that absorb vibrations and reduce performance.
• ECS Tuning's polyurethane bushings eliminate the deflection found in factory rubber bushings, resulting in improved power transfer from the differential to the wheels.
• Experience enhanced throttle control, whether you're navigating a challenging canyon road, drag racing, or simply commuting.

Unlike delrin or solid differential mounts, these bushings deliver improved performance without introducing harshness or excessive vibration.

Crafted from durable 88A durometer polyurethane and enhanced with a black anodized 6061-T6 aluminum sleeve.

Resistant to chemicals, ozone degradation, road salt, and general wear and tear, ensuring a longer service life.

This is the rear rubber-isolated differential mount. The diff mounts take the bulk of the twisting and binding as power is transmitted through the differential. We use a Meyle HD rubber bushing for the rear mount as it's stronger than the factory part. (33176751808). We also recommend replacing the front differential mount 33171093175MY at the same time.

Meyle is a German brand in business since 1958 and all of their products are TUV approved and meet or exceed ISO standards. Heavy Duty components are designed to provide significantly long lifespans than other aftermarket and stock OE components. Each part includes a 4 year warranty.

As a leading source of high performance BMW parts and accessories since 1993, we at Turner Motorsport are honored to be the go-to supplier for tens of thousands of enthusiasts the world over. With over two decades of parts, service, and racing experience under our belt, we provide only quality performance and replacement parts.  All of our performance parts are those we would (and do!) install and run on our own cars, as well as replacement parts that are Genuine BMW or from OEM manufacturers. We only offer parts we know you can trust to perform!

This item fits the following BMWs:
1999-2005 E46 BMW 323i 323ci 325i 325ci 325xi 328i 328ci 330i 330ci 330xi
2004-2005 E83 BMW X3 2.5i X3 3.0i
2003-2006 E85 BMW Z4 2.5i Z4 3.0i

Differential bushings are responsible for keeping the differential in solid alignment while dampening drivetrain vibration. While OE rubber bushings are fine when they are new from the factory, aged and worn out rubber bushings create a multitude of issues that can range from annoying to dangerous. As a factory bushing ages, it begins to harden and become brittle. When this happens the bushing will actually shrink and allow for movement at the differential mounting point. At this point, the differential is free to shift under load causing a noticeable clunking noise under acceleration and deceleration and massively increasing the stress on the driveshaft and axles. Manual transmissions suffer the worst from this as it can make shifting difficult since the differential will shift when the clutch is engaged and disengaged.

By replacing these bushings with full polyurethane, the movement is eliminated since the mounting point is supported by a much stiffer material that will not harden or shrink over time. This means less stress on the driveshaft and axles and greater longevity of supporting components. 

Powerflex Black Series bushings are the ultimate in track and race bushings. Featuring 95A durometer polyurethane, Black Series bushings are 25% stiffer than street bushings. Engineered to perform, Powerflex performance polyurethane control arm bushings offer a supreme level of control, while still providing enough comfort for the street, with advanced polyurethane that reduces NVH that often accompanies lesser bushings. Expect improved acceleration response, more direct shifting feel and overall improved drivetrain composure with Powerflex performance polyurethane bushings.

Poweflex is a leading manufacturer of aftermarket suspension bushings. Using state of the art design and manufacturing, all replacement bushings are engineered to out-perform and out-last the ones that came in the car. Each line of bushings is meticulously tested and then re-tested to ensure perfect fitment and enduring quality through the life of the vehicle. A full lifetime warranty backs every one of their products and demonstrates the level of confidence and commitment Powerflex has to their customers. 

This part fits the following BMWs:
2001 - 2006 E46 M3

Your rear differential is indirectly connected to your right foot through the engine and driveline, and connected to the seat of your pants through the chassis. Soft factory rubber differential bushings absorb vibrations between chassis and differential, providing comfort and softness in both of these connections.

Enter ECS Tuning's In-House Engineered Performance Polyurethane Differential Bushings. By eliminating the deflection factory rubber bushings permit, the connection between your right foot (and your seat) to the wheels is improved. Removal of this slop allows for crisper power transfer from differential to wheels, which means better throttle control while carving a canyon road, drag racing, sliding the rear end out, or just driving to work. This is achieved without the harshness or vibration associated with delrin or solid differential mounts.

Featuring a tough 88A durometer polyurethane and Black anodized 6061-T6 aluminum Sleeve, our Performance Polyurethane Differential Bushings are more resistant to chemicals, ozone degradation, road salt, and general wear and tear than factory rubber bushings, resulting in a longer service life.

Differential bushings are responsible for keeping the differential in solid alignment while dampening drivetrain vibration. While OE rubber bushings are fine when they are new from the factory, aged and worn out rubber bushings create a multitude of issues that can range from annoying to dangerous. As a factory bushing ages, it begins to harden and become brittle. When this happens the bushing will actually shrink and allow for movement at the differential mounting point. At this point, the differential is free to shift under load causing a noticeable clunking noise under acceleration and deceleration and massively increasing the stress on the driveshaft and axles. Manual transmissions suffer the worst from this as it can make shifting difficult since the differential will shift when the clutch is engaged and disengaged.

By replacing these bushings with full polyurethane, the movement is eliminated since the mounting point is supported by a much stiffer material that will not harden or shrink over time. This means less stress on the driveshaft and axles and greater longevity of supporting components. 

Powerflex Black Series bushings are the ultimate in track and race bushings. Featuring 95A durometer polyurethane, Black Series bushings are 25% stiffer than street bushings. Engineered to perform, Powerflex performance polyurethane control arm bushings offer a supreme level of control, while still providing enough comfort for the street, with advanced polyurethane that reduces NVH that often accompanies lesser bushings. Expect improved acceleration response, more direct shifting feel and overall improved drivetrain composure with Powerflex performance polyurethane bushings.

Poweflex is a leading manufacturer of aftermarket suspension bushings. Using state of the art design and manufacturing, all replacement bushings are engineered to out-perform and out-last the ones that came in the car. Each line of bushings is meticulously tested and then re-tested to ensure perfect fitment and enduring quality through the life of the vehicle. A full lifetime warranty backs every one of their products and demonstrates the level of confidence and commitment Powerflex has to their customers.